Crazy Climber
Encyclopedia
is a coin-operated arcade game
produced by Nichibutsu in 1980. It was also released in North America by Taito America Corporation
by UA Ltd. in 1982 for the Emerson Arcadia 2001
and other video game console
s. It is one of Nichibutsu's most highly-acclaimed video games in its library. A precursor to the platform game
genre, Crazy Climber was the first game revolving around climbing, specifically climbing buildings, before Nintendo
's 1981 release Donkey Kong
.
In Crazy Climber the player assumes the role of a daredevil
who is attempting to climb to the top of four skyscraper
s. There are a number of obstacles and dangers to avoid including:
Some of these dangers appear at every level of the game; others make appearances only in later stages. Should the climber succumb to any one of these dangers, a new climber takes his place at the exact point where he fell; the last major danger is eliminated.
One ally the climber has is a pink "Lucky Balloon"; if he is able to grab it, the climber is transported up 8 stories to a window. The window onto which it drops the climber may be about to close. If the window that the climber is dropped onto is fully closed, the balloon pauses there until the window opens up again. The player does not actually earn bonus points for catching the balloon, but he is awarded the normal 'step value' for each of the eight floors that he passes while holding the balloon.
If the climber is able to ascend to the top of a skyscraper and grabs the runner of a waiting helicopter
, he earns a bonus and is transported to another skyscraper, which presents more dangers than the past.
If the player completes all four skyscrapers, he is taken back to the first skyscraper, and the game restarts from the beginning, but the player keeps his score.
Musical cues used throughout the game include "Baby Elephant Walk
", "The Pink Panther Theme", and "The Entertainer
". Some cues were played to announce a danger; others served as 'victory' music.
The game also featured an early use of voice emulation. One example is the phrase "Go for it!". If the climber is not moved for several seconds a voice will be heard speaking this, encouraging the player to continue.
Crazy Climber is one of the few video games to use two joystick
s and no buttons.
The Family Computer
version had a special controller that could be used with it.
Electronics manufactured a hand-held
VFD
version of the game.
The game has also been ported to the Atari 2600
and the Japanese Famicom
.
A Japanese-only sequel, Crazy Climber 2
, was produced in 1988. The game was essentially identical to Crazy Climber in gameplay but featured more sophisticated graphics.
On February 3, 1996, Hyper Crazy Climber was released only in Japan for the PlayStation
. It has similar gameplay to that of the original game but also a few differences. You can choose between three cartoonish characters, each with their own strength/speed attributes. You then select several buildings from a Bomberman-style map screen, including an underwater building, a medieval clock tower, a haunted skyscraper, and a beanstalk. Power-ups are also used.
On March 2, 2000, Crazy Climber 2000 was released for the PlayStation
. This is more of a remake of the original arcade game using 3D graphics for the first time. A notable feature is the ability to turn corners and access different sides of the buildings, which now have a variety of designs (including one with a cylindrical, tower-like shape). The game included the original port of the arcade Crazy Climber and a scan of the instruction panel. Like Hyper Crazy Climber, Crazy Climber 2000 was released only in Japan.
On July 21, 2005, Japanese publisher Hamster released the arcade version of Crazy Climber under their "Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono" classic game line for the PlayStation 2
.
Another sequel or remake, Crazy Climber Wii was released for the Nintendo Wii in Japan on December 20, 2007, but no North American or European release date has been confirmed.
The arcade game was later re-released on the Wii
Virtual Console
in Japan on February 23, 2010.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
produced by Nichibutsu in 1980. It was also released in North America by Taito America Corporation
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
by UA Ltd. in 1982 for the Emerson Arcadia 2001
Arcadia 2001
The Arcadia 2001 is a second-generation 8-bit console released by Emerson Radio Corp. The game library was composed of 51 unique games and about 10 variations. The graphic quality is similar to that of the Intellivision and the Odyssey²....
and other video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
s. It is one of Nichibutsu's most highly-acclaimed video games in its library. A precursor to the platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
genre, Crazy Climber was the first game revolving around climbing, specifically climbing buildings, before Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's 1981 release Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong
is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He is roughly twice the size of a normal gorilla, weighing approximately 800 pounds. Donkey Kong first appeared in Nintendo's popular 1981 video game of the same name. Since then he has appeared in over 20 games in his own series, as well...
.
Description
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
who is attempting to climb to the top of four skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s. There are a number of obstacles and dangers to avoid including:
- Windows that open and close (the most common danger).
- Bald-headed residents (aka Mad Doctor), who throws objects such as flower pots, buckets of water and fruit in an effort to knock the climber off the building (with larger objects appearing by more aggressive Mad Doctors in later levels).
- A giant condorCondorCondor is the name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.They are:* The Andean Condor which inhabits the Andean mountains....
, who drops eggs and excrement aimed at the climber (two at a time in the early stages, four in later levels). - A giant ape (styled like King KongKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
), whose punch can prove deadly (he becomes more aggressive in later levels). - Falling steel girders and iron dumbbells (more numerous in the later levels).
- Live wires, which protrude off electric signs.
- Falling 'Crazy Climber' signs.
Some of these dangers appear at every level of the game; others make appearances only in later stages. Should the climber succumb to any one of these dangers, a new climber takes his place at the exact point where he fell; the last major danger is eliminated.
One ally the climber has is a pink "Lucky Balloon"; if he is able to grab it, the climber is transported up 8 stories to a window. The window onto which it drops the climber may be about to close. If the window that the climber is dropped onto is fully closed, the balloon pauses there until the window opens up again. The player does not actually earn bonus points for catching the balloon, but he is awarded the normal 'step value' for each of the eight floors that he passes while holding the balloon.
If the climber is able to ascend to the top of a skyscraper and grabs the runner of a waiting helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, he earns a bonus and is transported to another skyscraper, which presents more dangers than the past.
If the player completes all four skyscrapers, he is taken back to the first skyscraper, and the game restarts from the beginning, but the player keeps his score.
Musical cues used throughout the game include "Baby Elephant Walk
Baby Elephant Walk
"Baby Elephant Walk" is a piece of music written in 1961 by composer Henry Mancini, for the 1962 release of the movie Hatari! The composer combines brass instruments and woodwind elements to convey the sense of a toddler that is large and plodding, but nonetheless filled with the exuberance of...
", "The Pink Panther Theme", and "The Entertainer
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was later dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas...
". Some cues were played to announce a danger; others served as 'victory' music.
The game also featured an early use of voice emulation. One example is the phrase "Go for it!". If the climber is not moved for several seconds a voice will be heard speaking this, encouraging the player to continue.
Crazy Climber is one of the few video games to use two joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
s and no buttons.
The Family Computer
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version had a special controller that could be used with it.
Legacy
In 1981, BandaiBandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
Electronics manufactured a hand-held
Handheld electronic game
----Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose screen made up of a grid of small pixels, they...
VFD
Vacuum fluorescent display
A vacuum fluorescent display is a display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. Invented in Japan in 1967, the displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices...
version of the game.
The game has also been ported to the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
and the Japanese Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
.
A Japanese-only sequel, Crazy Climber 2
Crazy Climber 2
is a 1988 arcade game developed and published by Nichibutsu. It is the sequel to the 1980 arcade game Crazy Climber. The gameplay is mostly identical to that of its predecessor, but there some significant differences...
, was produced in 1988. The game was essentially identical to Crazy Climber in gameplay but featured more sophisticated graphics.
On February 3, 1996, Hyper Crazy Climber was released only in Japan for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. It has similar gameplay to that of the original game but also a few differences. You can choose between three cartoonish characters, each with their own strength/speed attributes. You then select several buildings from a Bomberman-style map screen, including an underwater building, a medieval clock tower, a haunted skyscraper, and a beanstalk. Power-ups are also used.
On March 2, 2000, Crazy Climber 2000 was released for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. This is more of a remake of the original arcade game using 3D graphics for the first time. A notable feature is the ability to turn corners and access different sides of the buildings, which now have a variety of designs (including one with a cylindrical, tower-like shape). The game included the original port of the arcade Crazy Climber and a scan of the instruction panel. Like Hyper Crazy Climber, Crazy Climber 2000 was released only in Japan.
On July 21, 2005, Japanese publisher Hamster released the arcade version of Crazy Climber under their "Oretachi Geasen Zoku Sono" classic game line for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
.
Another sequel or remake, Crazy Climber Wii was released for the Nintendo Wii in Japan on December 20, 2007, but no North American or European release date has been confirmed.
The arcade game was later re-released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on February 23, 2010.